Georgia Southern Battered but on the Rise

11/23/2012 -

Georgia Southern has battled an entire semester of injuries, yet as the mid-season approaches with only a tri-meet with NCAA Division II Anderson, SC and Spartanburg, SC left as we enter the Thanksgiving break, the Eagles have many high points going into the new semester.

Senior captains Darren Sexton and Shaun Scruggs both topped off a pair of top 5 finishes at the UCF Tournament in Orlando, Scruggs has missed some time with injuries but enters the midseason with a current 10-3 record and placed at both tournaments he has competed in. Sexton as of the UCF tournament is one of the top 10 point scorers in the country after winning the Bear Open and going 2-2 at the Citadel.

Young wrestlers have suffered injuries and setbacks as well but performed admirable in early season competition. Second year wrestlers Caleb Harris at 197 and Brian McAraw have been hampered with injuries but have gotten in solid mat time with McAraw at 141 winning the Bear Open and performing well in dual meets with a current 3-1 record in the duals wrestled to this point. Freshmen wrestlers Chris Hysaw at 157 and Tyler Thompson at 149 have really stood out as well. Thompson sports only a 5-4 record going into the last event of the semester, but has fought off major abdominal injury since the Citadel to perform well when he physically could. His high point came at UCF when he defeated NCAA Division 1 UNC Pembroke by a score of 10-9 which included over 4:00 of riding time. Thompson was wrestling up at 157 in the bout as well simply from the inability of his injury to allow him to make weight for the tournament.

Currently the Eagles have managed to stay in the top 10 point scorers in the country despite all the missed time by the wrestlers, there are also two transfer students coming in at midseason currently that will look to contribute to the lineup as well. The future is bright and health is right around the corner as the team prepares to improve upon the 12th place finish at last year's NCWA National Duals.